


Three Drops From A Vial

by messedupstargazer



Series: Rae's Whumptober 2019 [5]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Bad Case, Canon Divergence - Lucifer (TV) Season 04, Don't copy to another site, Gen, I Liked Season Four But I Think They Missed A Lot Of Opportunites, I'm Bad At Writing Cases, Lucifer's Employees Are LGBTQIA+, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Post-Lucifer (TV) Season/Series 03, Technically Chloe's Kinda In Love But It's Very Minor, The Author is Garbage at Writing Serial Killers, Unconsciousness, because I said so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 14:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20977646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messedupstargazer/pseuds/messedupstargazer
Summary: Whumptober #10 UnconsciousLucifer wasn’t sleeping.  That she saw clearly.  It wasn’t as bad as the week long bender he’d gone on when Maze tricked him into thinking he was flying and saving people in his sleep, but this was definitely up there.  Hair disheveled, suit wrinkled, eyeliner smudged, eyes red, occasionally going off on seriously crazy tangents, he hadn’t called her Booth yet but she was waiting for it.





	Three Drops From A Vial

**Author's Note:**

> tw: drugging

Lucifer wasn’t sleeping. That she saw clearly. It wasn’t as bad as the week long bender he’d gone on when Maze tricked him into thinking he was flying and saving people in his sleep, but this was definitely up there. Hair disheveled, suit wrinkled, eyeliner smudged, eyes red, occasionally going off on seriously crazy tangents, he hadn’t called her Booth yet but she was waiting for it.

“Chloe? You okay?” Ella asked, concerned.

Chloe snapped back to herself. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking.”

“About?” Ella asked. “You think of a new lead?”

She looked about as tired as Chloe felt. This case, a serial killer who left biblical verses in the victim’s blood, had everyone working overtime. She’d even found Dan asleep at his desk, when she and Lucifer went to give him another cup of coffee. Lucifer, in a surprisingly kind move, had simply adjusted him so he wouldn’t get a crick in his neck while sleeping. And since Lucifer didn’t “need” sleep, he was helping with everything he could. When one of them collapsed, he made them as comfortable as he could, and took over what they were doing.

The problem was, “The Adversary” as he called himself, left almost no evidence and there was very little connection between the victims, his last one being a young, single mother, a girl just barely twenty-one with a one year old son left to foster care. The only thing that connected all of his victims was the biblical messages he wrote, all quotes by the Adversary about testing the human soul, each of which incensed Lucifer more and more as time went on. According to him, Lucifer was “The Adversary”, as before his Fall. His Father had sent him to test the humans He deemed worthy, or “the ones He wanted to write the bloody books”. Lucifer, already infuriated that someone had the nerve to call himself a version of the Devil, had grown angrier with each killing, saying that when he tested someone, it had never been so senseless. Lucifer had admitted the day before, more than likely completely unaware of it, that when he did his Father’s work to test humans, he knew if they passed the test, He would reward them for being faithful and never straying. And if they failed, he knew his Father was right to test them as they weren’t living honestly. But this had no reward at the end of it. Their souls would ascend to Heaven or fall to Hell and that was it. No eternal reward, no true test of character, just a madman with a knife and not being fast enough to run away, or in one case, not being able to withstand blunt force trauma. That wasn’t punishment, that wasn’t testing someone. That was just senseless death.

“I’m worried about Lucifer.” Chloe said.

“Yeah I know.” Ella agreed. “I swear, I know he’s “the Devil” but seriously, he needs to take a break or he’s going to crash so hard.

Chloe sighed. “I don’t think he will until we catch this guy.”

“Yeah, he always take these biblical cases so hard.” Ella replied. “I mean, I know he’s really into the character, but he’s got to take a break sometime. I mean, he’s only human.”

One of Ella’s machines beeped. Ella went to check it. Chloe stopped in her tracks, reminding herself that Ella did not know the truth. Chloe had once tried to slyly suggest it to her, but Ella had just laughed it off. Whether she wasn’t ready to face the truth, or just didn’t comprehend was Chloe was really trying to say, she didn’t know.

She walked back over to where Lucifer was looking over some surveillance video on her computer. “Hey.”

His head snapped up three seconds too late. “Detective. Any luck?”

“Not yet.” She said, and saw his shoulders slump a little further.

“Well. Must press on, then.” Lucifer gave her a shaky smile.

“Lucifer, you need to rest.” She tried.

“I’m the Devil, darling.” Lucifer recited by rote, already immersed back in his current fixation. “I don’t need rest.”

“Guys!” Ella came running out of her office, holding a folder in her hands. “I know how he’s picking his victims!”

Once Ella had figured out they had all had the same type of alcohol in their stomachs, which all but hid the traces of a roofie type drug in their system, she was able to trace the connection that they all went to a bar three hours before they died, and due to the radius of the killings, she was able to pin down five potential bars that sold that particular mix of liquor. Financial statements showed that two victims, the ones who didn’t pay cash, went to the Heavenleaf Bar. Once that bar was found, it was a phone call for a list of employees away from a cross reference between employees who had shifts when the victims were there and who was off shift when the victims were killed. That had only left one name- Abe McMillion. A man who heard his victims complain to their bartender, the shoulder who was supposed to help them ease their sorrows and instead shoved a knife into their body for their ‘sins’. A man with no history of mental illness, who simply hated the people he served. Chloe would never admit it, but she felt a sick sense of satisfaction when Lucifer revealed his true face, she had long grown used to it, though his scars still made her worried about him. McMillion had been reduced to a blubbering mess, saying the religious aspect was to throw the police off his trail. He hadn’t even really read the Bible. Chloe arrested him, and sent him to booking where he could be processed.

“Lucifer?” Chloe said, gently reaching out to his shoulder.

Lucifer startled. “Yes, Detective?”

“Head home.” Chloe said. “The new lieutenant gave us a half day for tomorrow, we can finish paperwork later. You should rest.”

Lucifer gave her a small smile. “You need to go home as well, darling. The spawn hasn’t seen you in a while. Don’t mind me.”

“Trixie is with Dan for the night.” Chloe said, having already asked Dan who jumped at the chance to see his daughter on a non-designated Daddy-Daughter night. When he asked why, she simply replied that she needed to drive Lucifer home as he was in no shape to do so. Dan had understood that, and the trouble driving Lucifer meant for everyone involved. “Let me drive you home.”

“Detective, I adore you in every way.” Lucifer smiled his usual flirtatious smile. “But you are not driving my car. No one drives my car but me.”

“Except Trixie.” Chloe muttered, pulling his attention back to when he had made a deal with Trixie to get him into the “progressive” school for driving lessons.

Lucifer frowned. “A deal is a deal, Detective, I never go back on my word.”

“Then make a deal with me.” Chloe offered. “Go home and sleep, and I won’t bug you about driving your car.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I can’t make that deal at the moment.” Lucifer said, trying to play it off. “Lux will be rip roaring with people tonight and I’ll have my hands full.”

Chloe’s heart sank.

“Then how about we spend a little time together tonight?” She tried. “I can drive you home tonight, we can hang out a little at your penthouse, grab some dinner and I’ll pick you up tomorrow on my way into work?”

Lucifer frowned, as if trying to deduce her intentions. Chloe kept her face as still as possible. “I’m… amenable to that.”

“It’s a deal then.” She said, knowing those words just sealed her victory.

“I am a Devil of my word, Detective.” Lucifer said, gathering his belongings. “Though I do hate to leave my car alone for a night.”

“It’s in a police station.” Chloe said. “Nowhere could be safer.”

Lucifer smiled, a real one, one she had missed this past week. “If you insist, darling. Lead the way.”

Chloe drove him home in near complete silence. She kept glancing Lucifer’s way, seeing him fight to stay awake. When they arrived at Lux, Lucifer glided into the club like he wasn’t about to drop, shaking hands with his bouncers, asking about their days. That had surprised her once, thinking that Lucifer wasn’t the type to care about his employee’s day-to-day lives, but he made sure that every single one of his employees had everything they needed. It made sense, when she thought about it, though. Lucifer embodied righteous punishment, and the “punishment” his staff faced, such as being abused for being LGBT+ or being threatened by poverty or homelessness was not deserved nor righteous. It was not his Father testing them. It was human cruelty, and Lucifer was not one to give in to human cruelty.

They made their way up to the elevator.

“Anything fancy you for tonight?” Lucifer asked, as if talking would help him stay awake.

“What?” She replied.

“For dinner.” Lucifer said. “You must be starved, I know I am. Shall we order in? I fear I’m not really up to cooking tonight.”

“Ordering in sounds great.” Chloe said, slightly relieved that Lucifer wouldn’t attempt to work a stove or oven in his state. “How about Chinese?”

Lucifer perked up. “I know a great place over on Santa Monica Boulevard.”

“Do they deliver?” She asked.

“They’ll deliver for _me_.” Lucifer smirked. “Your usual?”

Chloe nodded and they arrived at his penthouse just as Lucifer was ordering in fluent Mandarin. She set her purse down on the couch, and dug through it to find her chapstick, and found another small vial she thought she had gotten rid of. Father Kinley had given her the “sedative” back in Rome, so she could send the Devil back to Hell. She had taken it in a moment of weakness, not that she wanted to send Lucifer back to Hell, but being away from him for a month made her memories of him seem different. She should’ve known that’s exactly what Kinley was preying on, and when she found Lucifer again back in L.A., she had told Father Kinley that she knew what Lucifer was and she was not going to send him back to Hell. Lucifer may be the Devil, but he was her Lucifer, the one who literally gave a stranger the clothes off his back, the one who loved her daughter, at least enough to suffer through her childish whims and try to teach her how to drive in his car, the one who cried in her arms after he realized that God Johnson was not the man he thought he was (though that may have been the drugs). She didn’t care if he was the Devil. Maybe Ella was right. The Devil really does get a bad rap.

She had meant to get rid of the vial. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with Father Kinley or the prophecy she was sure he made up, or anything else that painted Lucifer as being as manipulative as he called his Father. The Prince of Lies was something humanity used to justify using Lucifer as a scapegoat. She knew his true face and it did not scare her anymore. But… she wondered if it hadn’t been a mistake, not getting rid of the vial. The liquid was supposed to suppress his angelic nature and sedate him. She remembered how he was when he didn’t sleep for a week, eyes as wild as his nature, his mind unable to form just about any coherent thought. She slyly checked his bedroom, and found his room unlived in for at least a few days. She stuffed the vial down into her purse and grabbed her chapstick, putting it on quickly. She knew he hated being lied to, and lying by omission definitely counted, but hopefully, he would never catch on to what she thought about doing.

They chatted amicably on the couch, Lucifer only leaving to pour them both drinks, until food arrived, piping hot and Lucifer went to pay the delivery man. After he gave the young man a hefty tip, he brought the food to the couch. They bounced off each other as they ate, Chloe feeling like she did before she found out that her lieutenant was the first murderer, a criminal mastermind, and trying to marry her because he found out she made immortals mortal. Granted, that knowledge also came with Lucifer’s true face, and once she got her head on straight, she appreciated that knowledge. She appreciated him.

“All right, Lucifer, I think it’s time for you to go to bed.” Chloe said, after they had finished their meal and cleaned up after themselves.

“I think I shall pop down to Lux for a little while.” Lucifer said. “I’ll ride the elevator down with you though.”

“Lucifer, you need to sleep.” She stressed.

“I don’t _need_ sleep, Detective.” Lucifer said, a hint of defensiveness in his voice. “I am the Devil.”

“Lucifer, please, I’m worried about you.” Chloe said. “You haven’t slept in days.”

“No need, Detective.” Lucifer said, definitely defensive now. “I am not in need of assistance, nor do you need to worry. I am perfectly capable of handling things myself, I don’t need humans meddling into my Devil work.”

She pursed her lips. She knew he was hiding something. “Lucifer, please. Don’t push me out. Last time this happened we were a mess. I don’t want that to happen this time.”

“This is not comparable.” Lucifer said. “Maze is not tricking me this time. I… simply do not wish to sleep. This case… affected me more than I expected but I am not going to give in to my Father’s manipulations and dreams and I’m going to do what I want. And I don’t want to sleep.”

Nightmares. She should’ve known. No wonder he wasn’t sleeping. His solution to these problems was to run himself into the ground until he literally couldn’t anymore.

“Then let me at least get a drink for the road.” She said, changing course. “If you’ve got this completely under control, I should head home. Do you have any water or am I going to have to drink from the tap?”

Lucifer gave a surprised chuckle. “I do have water, Detective. Staying hydrated is a very important part of-”

“Just water, please."

When he got up to pour her one last drink, she quickly grabbed Lucifer’s glass of bourbon and poured in three drops from the vial- hoping if it was poison, three drops wouldn’t be deadly. After all, he was the Devil. No human poison should affect him.

She hoped.

He returned easily, and he took his bourbon, unaware. She offered a small toast, and he clinked their glasses together, downing his leftover alcohol in one gulp. He immediately swayed, holding onto the bar for support.

“Lucifer, are you alright?” Chloe asked, panic flooding her system. She couldn’t believe it. She’d just poisoned him. She’d just killed the best partner she’d ever had.

“‘M fine, Det’ive.” Lucifer said. “I’m… I just got so… tired… all of a sudden.”

“You need to go to bed, now.” Chloe said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She half-carried, half-walked him to his bed, setting him down on the side. He fumbled with his buttons, his eyes half-lidded, his fingers sloppy and uncoordinated. She helped him out of his suit jacket, then his button-up. When he realized what she was doing, his fingers dropped loosely to the side and he stared at her with glazed eyes. She decided to leave the pants on because there was no way that she could lift him to get them off, and she wasn’t sure he was wearing underwear underneath and she didn’t want to add sexual to her assault on him.

“I’m sorry, Lucifer, I’m so sorry.” Chloe said, helping him lie down on his side.

She was half-tempted to run, to get as far away from what she’d done as she could, to run and run and run and maybe that would save him.

Lucifer weakly grabbed onto her wrist. “Stay. Please.”

His drug-addled mind had confused what she was apologizing for. His eyes were barely open but he seemed so desperate for her not to leave. She couldn’t deny him.

“Okay, just let me get you some water.” She whispered.

By the time she found the stash of bottled water and come back, he was already unconscious.

She immediately put two fingers to his neck, feeling a strong pulse underneath. She checked his breathing. He seemed alright.

“Oh God, what have I done?” Chloe whispered. She knew she wouldn’t get an answer.

She moved one of his chairs into his bedroom, curling into it, staring straight at him. She had to watch for anything that could be signs of a weakening heartbeat, or him not being able to breathe. Then she knew she would have to run, whether he wanted her there or not. Since they became close, she had always known she had to protect him. She just never thought she’d have to protect him from herself.

“Not that this isn’t is a lovely sight to wake up to, but I think you’ve slept long enough, darling.” Lucifer’s voice, clear and strong, woke her.

“Lucifer!” Chloe startled, coming awake with a gasp. “You’re okay!”

“Yes, I’m okay. Actually haven’t slept this well in a long time.” Lucifer smiled at her, sitting on his bed, a fresh suit on, holding a water bottle out to Chloe. She ignored it, standing, checking Lucifer’s pulse.

“Detective, what is the meaning of this?” Lucifer asked, genuinely confused.

“What’s the last thing you remember from last night?” Chloe asked.

Lucifer frowned. “We had a lovely dinner, you were heading home, we had a toast… then I felt very, very tired. You were heading home. Why did you stay? I didn’t do anything to you, did I? Consent is not merely a mortal invention. I do not normally black out, I’m not sure what happened.”

Chloe let out a single laugh, nearly crying.

“Detective?”

“I think I poisoned you last night.” She admitted.

Lucifer took a step back from her. “What do you mean?”

She explained that when she’d gone to Rome, she’d met a man named Father Kinley, who was a priest, who called him evil, who tried to manipulate her into sending him back to Hell. A man who told her of a prophecy, that Lucifer’s love was the key to Armageddon, and how he’d found evidence of Lucifer with Nazis, in circles filled with the worst of humanity, and she hadn’t had answers that could solve why Lucifer was there. How Kinley specialized in exorcisms and he’d given her a vial, a sedative he called it, to drug Lucifer so he could take it from there. She’d been wary of him, he had talked so horribly but sugarcoated it so well, it took her seeing him again to realize Kinley exploited her human fears, her grief at Charlotte’s death, her dealings with Marcus/Cain, her uncertainty of how to proceed, even her daughter, for he had said that Trixie could never grow up safe while Lucifer was around, and how she’d taken the vial but never once thought of using it. She told him that when she saw Lucifer again, heard his voice, she was reminded of who he truly was, and while that _was_ the Devil, she knew he would do everything he could to protect her, protect Trixie. How she gave Father Kinley a rather explicit send-off, saying he was never to contact her again, and that she chose Lucifer over him. She told him that she had meant to get rid of the vial, but had somehow forgotten. She didn’t know how but she forgot. She had handed the vial to Lucifer, who studied it carefully.

“And after this case, you were so upset, you didn’t even tease Dan, and I was so worried about you and I knew you weren’t sleeping and I know what happens to you when you don’t sleep and while you’ve never told me about your nightmares, I know you get them, Devil or no, and Kinley called it a sedative and I thought a few drops couldn’t hurt, you’re Lucifer, it’ll just make you end up sleeping afterwards but you just sort of shut down, and you basically passed out and I’m so sorry Lucifer, this is all my fault!”

Chloe had somehow started crying during the speech, unable to look at Lucifer.

“You must hate me.” She whispered.

“I don’t hate you.” Lucifer whispered back.

She looked up at him, and saw him frowning deeply at the vial, as he did when he was concentrating, but she saw no anger on his face. She knew he never lied.

“Detective, I don’t blame you for being afraid of me.” Lucifer said.

“I do.” She said. “You’re my partner, my friend, my-” She stopped herself. She couldn’t admit to that. Not now, not after what she’d done. “I trust you. I was never afraid of you, not really. You’ve never lied to me, from day one, and I should’ve known better. You trusted me, and I betrayed you. I should’ve been more careful with you. I could’ve killed you.”

“You didn’t.” Lucifer said, his tone subdued, his eyes never leaving the vial. “And I think you’ve already suffered the punishment for your actions. You didn’t kill me, let’s leave it at that.

“I lied to you.” She cried.

“You did.” Lucifer nodded slowly. “And I will come back to that. But right now, I’m much more interested in this Father Kinley fellow. How did he know you make me vulnerable?”

“I don’t know, he already knew when he met me.” Chloe answered.

Lucifer growled, a Devilish growl, low and frightening. “I think I sense my father’s hand in this. Or perhaps even one of my siblings. Human prophecies have a going rate of maybe fifty percent, and this man knows answers to questions he shouldn’t. No mortal sedative should’ve knocked me out so quickly, not even with you there. A few drops is not enough to do any damage to me, for a mortal drug. He must’ve got a hold of something angelic. That is the bigger problem.”

Chloe nodded. “I’m so sorry, Lucifer. I swear, I was only trying to help you.”

“I know, love.” Lucifer’s face softened, finally making eye contact again. She found solace in his brown eyes, seeing no resentment. “I’ve hurt you so many times in the past that I think you deserve a few shots back at me.”

“I shouldn’t have lied to you.” She insisted. “I won’t-” She stopped, knowing he wouldn’t like an empty promise. “I will do everything I can to never lie to you again.”

Lucifer smiled sadly. “Thank you, Detective. But for now, I think we should start looking into this Father Kinley person. He seems to be the biggest threat to my safety at the moment. Besides, I think we’re late for work.”

Chloe gasped, she hadn’t realized how long she’d slept. Thankfully, when she grabbed it, her phone had no updates from the station. It seemed the lieutenant either hadn’t noticed they weren’t there, or was giving them the benefit of the doubt after such a long case.

“We should go, I need to drop you back off to your car.” Chloe said.

“Can I drive this time?” Lucifer asked. “After all, you did just drug me.”

“I also shot you and you turned it into my favorite necklace.” She said dryly, falling back in line with their banter. “And I did drug you, I’m not letting you drive my car. What if you suddenly pass out while driving? We’d crash, and I’d have to get a new car, and a new partner, and I don’t want to go through the hassle of training another partner. So I’m driving.”

She took her keys from his hands, he’d tried to sneak them away from her, and marched to the elevator.

“You coming?” She called out.

“Of course, Detective.” He walked over to her.

The elevator dinged.

“So it’s your favorite necklace now?”

“Shut up, Lucifer.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my attempt at Whumptober, I'll be posting as much as I can, under this series. Not all will be Lucifer but each story will be Whumptober. Some will.
> 
> If you liked it, let me know! I'm always down to talk Lucifer! Come find me at bloodyfeverdreams on tumblr! Leave a comment or come say hi! Whatever you're comfortable with!


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